Raimundo Lies
by HowCouldThisHappenToMe
Summary: When Alyssa arrived at her house, there were tearstains streaked down her cheeks. Her father walked into the hallway to find her there. “Alyssa,” he questioned. “Daddy, Raimundo lies," she whispered, her voice breaking. Rated for character death.


**Well, I was listening to the song "Alyssa Lies" by Jason Michael Carroll and, well, this idea came into my head. I'm going to warn you all now, this is a tragic story. Also, this uses an OC, but not for romance. They have a brother/sister bond. Capice?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of the characters. I also do not own the song "Alyssa Lies" by Jason Michael Carroll, although I only used snippits of it in the narration.**

**Well, let's hope your ready for a sad story. Enjoy.**

**!!!!WARNING!!!! Hope that got your attention. Now, I'm going to say that this fic includes religion (not revolves around, but includes) and I'm going to warn you now that if you don't want to read anything that even mentions the words "God" or "Jesus" then turn back now. I understand that religion can be a touchy subject and I don't wish to offend anyone, so I'm putting this warning to avoid reviews that yell at me for it. Now, if you don't mind reading something with religion included, then, by all means, go ahead and enjoy the story.**

* * *

Alyssa, a young woman at the age of sixteen, was walking along the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. She hadn't had any destination in mind, but was just walking for the exercise as well as to get some fresh air.

"Alyssa," a familiar voice called and she turned around to see one of her old friends.

He had grown over the past few years since she had seen him; become more muscular. However, he still had that same, messy brown hair and emerald eyes that she'd known since she was five years old.

"Raimundo," she exclaimed happily and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I haven't seen you in so long. How've you been?"

Raimundo Pedrosa chuckled as the girl pulled away from him, a smile on her face. She had also grown quite a bit in the years he'd been away. For starters, she'd grown curves. A brotherly protectiveness grew in him as he realized this and all the people who had probably given the wrong kinds of thoughts about her. She'd grown tanner, though that was to be expected from someone living where they did. Her once very long black hair had been cut short, just below her jaw line, but her hazel eyes still held the love she had for him, as a sister.

"I've been good, Lyss. What about you," he asked as they began walking together.

"Pretty good. I've missed having you around. I hardly have anyone to talk to anymore. I mean, I've got a lot of friends, but none as close as you."

"Well, I _am_ the best."

Alyssa rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Right, Rai. No one can top _you_," she answered sarcastically and shoved him to the side. He stumbled, cringing slightly in pain. This didn't go unnoticed by his childhood friend. "What? Have you gone soft on me or something?"

Raimundo chuckled, pretending he was perfectly fine. He hoped Alyssa would buy into it.

"Yeah, something like that," he answered in a joking tone. Alyssa frowned and grabbed his arm gently.

"Rai, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Lyss."

"Let me see your arm," she insisted.

"I'm fine, Lyss, just a little sore."

Alyssa lifted Raimundo's long sleeve to see large bruises covering almost every inch of his arm. Her eyes widened in shock as she checked the other arm. It was the same.

"Raimundo, what happened?"

"It was just a few accidents in the circus. I got cocky and screwed up," Raimundo answered with a shrug.

Alyssa's brows furrowed slightly and her eyes showed hurt. She wasn't sure if Raimundo was telling the truth, or just giving her that story to calm her. She looked away as they began walking again, though it was much more silent.

"Don't worry, Lyss. I'm fine," Raimundo insisted. At that moment, his cell phone started ringing and he picked it up with a sigh. "Hello… Here? Now? Alright… I'll be there in a few minutes." With that, he hung up the phone.

"Leaving already," Alyssa asked.

"My parents want me to meet them on the other side of town. I'll come by your house later."

Raimundo gave her a tight hug before running off. Alyssa stood where she was for a moment, thoughts conflicting in her mind. She wanted to trust her dearest friend, but she knew he wasn't telling her everything. Finally coming to a decision, she followed after Raimundo to see exactly what he was hiding from him. He went far past the outskirts of the city, to a place no one would ever think to look for anyone, unless they were looking for a corpse. Alyssa shuddered at the thought. When Raimundo had finally stopped, she ducked behind a bush and watched as some kind of giant lizard appeared and leapt forward.

Alyssa gasped silently as she watched Raimundo force back the reptile and could see the strain on his face. She bit her lower lip to force back a cry when he was knocked backwards. Raimundo quickly stood and pulled out some kind of sword with a blue blade.

"Blade of the Nebula," he yelled with a swipe of the sword and a gust of wind hit the lizard.

At that moment, six other people joined the fight. Three of them appeared to be helping Raimundo while the other three seemed to be against him. One of the enemies looked like some kind of giant bean. Alyssa watched in horror as the fight progressed. She'd seen fights before, but nothing like that. She'd never seen anything so brutal before in her life. Once it was over, she ran away as fast as she could. Raimundo and his friends had won, but all had sustained serious injuries.

* * *

When Alyssa arrived at her house, there were tearstains streaked down her cheeks. She slammed the door shut behind her and began sobbing as she slid to the floor. Her father walked into the hallway to find her there.

"Alyssa," he questioned.

"Daddy, Raimundo lies," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Her father frowned slightly, not quite understanding what she meant. She knew Raimundo had been her best friend for years, but this was something that had never happened. He knelt down beside his daughter and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"You can tell me," he said softly, though unsure of what to expect for an answer.

"Raimundo lies to everyone. Raimundo lies every time I see him. Raimundo lies straight to my face as he tries to cover every bruise."

Alyssa began shaking more as her sobs progressed for her friend. Her father squeezed her lightly in a hug, silently assuring her that everything would be alright. He wasn't sure what to make of her words, though. Was she speaking of child abuse or something much more serious? All the man could do at that point was comfort his daughter.

That evening, Alyssa got ready for bed, still shaken from what she had seen that day. She knelt down beside her bed and folded her hands in front of her. Her father walked by, but stopped and leaned against the wall when he heard his daughter making a soft, sweet prayer.

"God bless my mom and my dad, and my best friend, Raimundo. I know he needs you bad, because Raimundo lies to everyone. Raimundo lies every time I see him. Raimundo lies straight to my face as he tries to cover every bruise," Alyssa whispered.

* * *

For a few years, things went unnoticed and unsaid. Alyssa's father didn't do anything to investigate Raimundo's situation. The main reason for it being that the boy wasn't home often, only for holidays. Every time Alyssa saw him, though, he sported more cuts and bruises. Her father often tried to think of ways to lay her fears to rest, but couldn't think of anything to say that would help. Finally, after those three years, he decided to take action and begin investigating what had been happening with Raimundo since he left Rio.

He never got the chance. The very next morning, there was a letter in the mail addressed to him and his family. He read through it quickly and was in shock. He had to read it several times over before he could fully grasp what he was being informed of. He sat on his couch, unable to do anything else at the moment. He knew he would have to tell his daughter, but it would break her heart.

When Alyssa came home, she found her father sitting on the couch with a grim look on his face. She could almost swear she saw tears brimming in his eyes. She didn't know, but it hurt him to think of the pain she would be feeling in just a few moments.

"Daddy, what's wrong," she asked.

"Alyssa, sit down. There's something I need to tell you," her father answered.

Alyssa sat with a concerned look on her face. She set her bags from college on the floor by her feet.

"Daddy, what's going on? Is something wrong? Did something bad happen?"

Her father could feel a lump in his throat growing bigger with every question she asked.

"Raimundo won't be coming to visit anymore," he said gently.

"Why?"

"Because he won't lie to everyone. He won't lie every time he sees you. Raimundo lies with Jesus because there's nothing that anyone could do. This letter says that he died fighting for our country."

Alyssa covered her mouth as the tears sprung from her eyes. She shook her head in disbelief and trembled slightly.

"Why," she cried as a sob escaped her lips.

Her father stood and wrapped her in a hug as she cried on his chest. She had just lost her oldest, dearest friend, and only she knew the truth.

* * *

**In all honesty, I nearly made myself cry with this story, sorta like how I cried the first time I ever heard the song. Anyway, I wanted to tell y'all that I named the OC Alyssa because I may or may not write a sequel/extra chapter about her trying to cope with Rai's death. I just went with the name because if I do write the extra chapter and it turns out good, I want it to work well with the story. Okay, now that I've explained that, Please R&R. Oh, and no flames about how I killed off Raimundo, got it?**


End file.
